Beginning on October 17 in Dallas, the Navy Midshipmen and SMU Mustangs will play for the Gansz Trophy. The trophy has been created in honor of the late Frank Gansz, considered to be one of the top special teams coaches ever in the NFL.

Frank Gansz (Biography) played at the Naval Academy 1957 to 1959. He also coached at Navy and at SMU. Gansz passed away on April 27, 2009.

Navy and SMU are currently in a 4-game home-and-home football series that ends in 2011. The series will resume in 2015 for an additional four games. Navy will host SMU in Annapolis in 2015 and 2017 and will travel to face SMU in Dallas in 2016 and 2018.